Rio Tinto Chief Executive Simon Trott said: "We are delivering growth as we drive performance across the group, with copper equivalent production up 3 per cent in the first half.
"Our scale, geographical diversification and sophisticated supply chains continue to underpin our resilience and strong operational performance despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty throughout the period.
"In the Pilbara, we achieved our highest first half iron ore production since we set a record in 2018, through the successful implementation of our ongoing productivity improvement program. In copper, Oyu Tolgoi continued to ramp up on schedule to deliver more than 30 per cent growth for the first half, while our integrated, large-scale aluminium business sustained its strong performance.
"At Simandou, we continue to advance at pace. SimFer mine construction and port infrastructure are both now more than three quarters complete, with full rail commissioning achieved in the first quarter. We are progressing our next generation of copper growth options at Resolution and Winu, while in lithium we achieved first production ahead of plan at Sal de Vida and Fénix 1B.
"We are driving a step-change in operational performance to deliver industry leading returns and growth for our shareholders."
Executive Summary
- Operational excellence: 3% YoY increase in copper equivalent (CuEq)1 production for the first half.
- Copper: Oyu Tolgoi ramp-up remains on track; H1 production delivered 31% YoY growth. Copper C1 net unit cost guidance has been reduced to US 30 - 50c/lb (from US 65 - 75c/lb).
- Iron ore: Q2 global iron ore sales were 89Mt, up 5% YoY. Q2 Pilbara sales up 7% YoY. SimFer mine construction and port infrastructure now both over three quarters complete.
- Aluminium: Resilience across the supply chain, with a strong recovery in bauxite.
- Lithium: Production rose 20% YoY in Q2 driven by the ramp-up at Rincon starter plant and delivery of first tonnes at Sal de Vida and Fénix 1B, ahead of plan.
Production and sales² |
Quarter 2 2026 |
vs Q2 2025 |
vs Q1 2026 |
H1 2026 |
vs H1 2025 |
2026 guidance¹⁰ |
Guidance status |
||||||
Copper production (consolidated basis) (kt) |
213 |
-7% |
-7% |
442 |
+1% |
800-870 |
Unchanged |
||||||
Global iron ore production³ (100% basis) (Mt⁹) |
87.1 |
-1% |
+5% |
169.9 |
+5% |
NA |
NA |
||||||
Pilbara iron ore production (100% basis) (Mt⁹) |
83.5 |
0% |
+6% |
162.3 |
+6% |
NA |
NA |
||||||
Global iron ore sales⁴ (100% basis) (Mt⁹) |
88.8 |
+5% |
+17% |
164.5 |
+4% |
343-366 |
Unchanged |
||||||
Pilbara iron ore sales⁵ (100% basis) (Mt⁹) |
85.3 |
+7% |
+18% |
157.7 |
+5% |
323-338 |
Unchanged |
||||||
Bauxite production (Mt) |
15.2 |
-3% |
+14% |
28.5 |
-7% |
58-61 |
Unchanged |
||||||
Alumina production⁶ (Mt) |
2.0 |
+10% |
-2% |
4.0 |
+8% |
7.6-8.0 |
Unchanged |
||||||
Aluminium production⁷ (Mt) |
0.84 |
0% |
+1% |
1.68 |
0% |
3.25-3.45 |
Unchanged |
||||||
Lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) production⁸ (kt) |
14.6 |
+20% |
+15% |
27.3 |
+53% |
61-64 |
Unchanged |
||||||
Footnotes |
|||||||||||||
1 Copper equivalent (CuEq) volume = Rio Tinto's share of production volume / Volume conversion factor x Product price ($/t) / Copper price ($/t). Prices are based on long-term consensus prices. |
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2 Rio Tinto share unless otherwise stated. |
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3 Iron Ore production for Pilbara operations and Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) refers to saleable production (after crushing, screening and beneficiation). For Simandou, it represents ore ready for train loading at the SimFer mine gate: final (tertiary) crushing of Simandou ore takes place in China. |
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4 Includes all shipments from Pilbara and IOC, including those to our Portside trading business; excludes shipments from our Portside trading business. It also includes Simandou sales, where there is a ~2-3 month lag between mine gate production and sales for railing, shipping to China and tertiary crushing. 2026 sales guidance (100% basis) is 5-10 Mt for Simandou and 15-18 Mt for IOC. |
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5 Pilbara iron ore guidance remains subject to the timing of approvals for planned mining areas and heritage clearances. |
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6 QAL production now included on a 100% basis. |
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7 Includes primary aluminium only. |
|||||||||||||
8 H1 2025 represents production since March following completion of the Arcadium acquisition. Q1 2025 LCE production was 5.6kt (6.5kt on a 100% basis); LCE shipments were 3.8kt (5.0kt on a 100% basis). |
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9 Wet metric tonnes. |
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10 See further notes in Section 2, 2026 guidance. |
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The full second quarter production results are available here.
This announcement is authorised for release to the market by Matthew Whyte, Rio Tinto's Group Company Secretary.
UK LEI: 213800YOEO5OQ72G2R82
AU LEI: 529900X2VMAQT2PE0V24
Classification: 3.1 Additional regulated information required to be disclosed under the laws of a Member State
Forward-looking statement
This announcement includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this report, including, without limitation, those regarding Rio Tinto's financial position, production guidance, business strategy, plans and objectives of management for future operations (including development plans and objectives relating to Rio Tinto's products, production forecasts and reserve and resource positions), are forward-looking statements. The words "intend", "aim", "project", "anticipate", "estimate", "plan", "believes", "expects", "may", "should", "will", "target", "set to" or similar expressions, commonly identify such forward-looking statement.
Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Rio Tinto, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding Rio Tinto's present and future business strategies and the environment in which Rio Tinto will operate in the future. A discussion of the important factors that could cause Rio Tinto's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements can be found in Rio Tinto's most recent Annual Report and accounts in Australia and the United Kingdom and the most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") or Form 6-Ks furnished to, or filed with, the SEC. Forward-looking statements should, therefore, be construed in light of the risk factors discussed in such documents, and undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this report. Rio Tinto expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking (except as required by applicable law, the UK Listing Rules, the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority and the Listing Rules of the Australian Securities Exchange) to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in Rio Tinto's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Nothing in this announcement should be interpreted to mean that future earnings per share of Rio Tinto plc or Rio Tinto Limited will necessarily match or exceed its historical published earnings per share. Past performance cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance.
